Right on cue at Halloween season a bunch of big men dressed all in black have materialised in London. Trick or treat? When New Zealand rugby players tour Europe it is usually both, with the opposition cast as the pumpkins. Starting with Saturday’s first game against the Barbarians at Twickenham, a glint of silver fern inevitably generates a frisson.
The difference this time is that, for once, everyone knows the latest touring squad are human rather than invincible supermen. The British and Irish Lions proved as much in June and July, piercing the black aura in a dramatic, drawn series, and Australia also beat New Zealand in Brisbane this month. Should the All Blacks emerge unbeaten from their Tests against France, Scotland and Wales, it is unlikely to have been entirely straightforward.
Beyond the results and inevitable building towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup, however, there is a further crucial off-field element to this tour. It is necessary to read only the briefest of advance extracts from Warren Gatland’s soon-to-be-published book In The Line of Fire to revisit the antipathy directed at the 2017 Lions from the moment they touched down in Auckland. The New Zealand Herald publishing a prominent image of Gatland as a cartoon clown was just the red-nosed tip of the iceberg.
At least Gatland, a Kiwi himself, had the last laugh, donning a clown’s nose himself for his press conference following the third Test. Subsequently, though, he made clear he did not remotely enjoy aspects of the tour, not least the personal nature of some of the local media coverage. “It’s as if a needle has been put into me and is slowly taking the blood out,” he told his wife, Trudi. Give or take a little shot of hyperbole, his upset was real enough. No fake blood here.
Which brings us back to this current New Zealand expedition. How would they enjoy being greeted from day one with mocking, disrespectful coverage? ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ was the faintly menacing headline when Gatland’s Lions arrived and so it came to pass, not least via a drip, drip of semi-choreographed articles championing the All Blacks’ agenda over that of their temporary guests. Those who insist there was no such calculated policy should have been within earshot when a senior New Zealand Rugby employee admitted it over dinner one evening.
Things got so blatant that the Lions media team felt they had no choice but to change tack mid-tour, calling a meeting with some touring reporters in Rotorua to ask what could be done to reverse the prevailing tide. Telling professional journalists to be cheerleaders, sadly, is like inviting a group of shy, retiring vicars to a nightclub: it is not their natural habitat. Wanting the Lions to do well is fundamentally different from setting aside any semblance of journalistic impartiality to make it happen.
The last thing rugby needs is to head any further down such a self-destructive road. Back in the summer the average New Zealander could not have been more welcoming, ushering rugby-loving tourists into their homes and taking pride in showing them their beautiful country (and its vineyards). How good it would be this autumn if European supporters were also actively encouraged to fall back in love with the tall, black-clad strangers in their midst.
Maybe the good old zebra-striped Barbarians can act as healing agents. Talk to anyone in the UK in their early 50s or older and they will still be waxing lyrical about the famous equivalent fixture against the All Blacks in Cardiff in 1973. The memories of Gareth Edwards, Phil Bennett, David Duckham, John Bevan et al have yet to fade but neither have the names and craggy features of their opponents: the great Ian Kirkpatrick, the peppery Grant Batty, Sid Going’s sideburns, the boot of Joe Karam. It is said people never remember losers; absolutely not in this case.
Eddie Jones has already been doing his bit, stressing how impressed he is with the way New Zealand are managing their way through a slight transitional phase, blooding new players and quietly experimenting. Jones, of course, may have reason to want to talk up Steve Hansen’s side, given England will not play them again until this time next year. Either way there is genuine appreciation right across the northern hemisphere for the skills of Beauden Barrett, the fresh talent of Rieko Ioane, the all-court game of Kieran Read and the dash of Damian McKenzie. Nor is it an act of patriotic treason to say so in print.
So let us bin the red clown noses, ditch the bitchy propaganda and appreciate the next month for what it is: a golden chance to see good players in our own back yards and, if possible, to beat them fair and square. If jetlagged Kiwis are spotted in the street, give them a welcoming hug. Following a rancorous Lions tour it is time to revive rugby’s slightly battered concepts of mutual admiration and respect.
Great Scot
If ever there was a man capable of single-handedly unifying global rugby it is probably Doddie Weir, the former Scotland lock forward, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. The sport is full of popular former players and good causes but rarely do they coincide with quite the same emotional force as in the case of the 47-year-old Weir. A big fundraising testimonial dinner will be held in London next Monday while the previous day farmers from across the Scottish Borders will be showing their support with a vintage tractor parade through the town of Lauder. To donate go to www.doddieweir5trust.co.uk.
One to watch
The match schedule for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan will be made public on Thursday, always a fascinating document. It is even rumoured that short turnarounds between matches will no longer be the sole preserve of smaller nations, the cause of much justified complaint at previous tournaments. Now is the time, either way, to brush up on your Far East geography.